Italy finalises deal for last submarine in U-212 NFS series

Defense News carries an article about Italy which signed a deal to buy its fourth and final U-212 NFS submarine, Caliber.Az reprints the article.

Italy has agreed to a 500 million euro ($535 million) contract to purchase its fourth and final U-212 NFS submarine from the state-owned Italian shipyard Fincantieri.

Named Near Future Submarine (NFS), the new vessels will join Italy’s existing fleet of four U-212 submarines, replacing the four Sauro-class submarines that are scheduled for retirement.

With these new acquisitions, Italy will maintain its submarine fleet at a total of eight vessels, a number deemed necessary by navy planners to effectively patrol the increasingly crowded Mediterranean region.

Fincantieri stated that the new deal, managed by the European-based contracting agency OCCAR, includes logistic support for the new submarine.

Fincantieri announced that it plans to launch the first and second NFS submarines in 2027 and 2028, respectively, and has begun construction on the third submarine this week at its Muggiano yard in Italy.